U.S. soldiers supporting the Marjah offensive cross a canal west of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, on Friday.
Posted on 02/12/2010 10:43:22 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
U.S. soldiers supporting the Marjah offensive cross a canal west of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, on Friday.
WASHINGTON – Although the major offensive under way in Marjah is the largest yet undertaken by allies in Afghanistan, it will look a lot like previous so-called clearing operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan – a sudden, violent invasion followed by months of painstaking patrols to win over the local population.
According to military analysts and senior defense officials involved in the operation, the length of the fighting and the subsequent pacification effort will be highly dependent on the Taliban's willingness to stay and fight.
In previous operations -- particularly elsewhere in central Helmand Province, where the U.S. Marines began reinforcing British forces in mid-2008 – the initial fighting period normally has lasted less than two weeks, with Taliban fighters only rarely going toe-to-toe with allied forces in pitched battles.
"The actual fighting should be over in a couple weeks, at most," said retired Col. Peter Mansoor, a professor of military history at Ohio State University who served as executive officer to then-Iraq commander Gen. David Petraeus. "The Taliban certainly doesn't have the strength in that city to hold out against a determined Marine assault."
A senior defense official cautioned, however, there have been significant differences in levels of resistance between central Helmand districts that are only a few hundred miles from each other.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
fyi
There is a 5 parts series that played on SkyTV (UK) last year , Ross Kemp Returns to Afghanistan, that followed the British and Afghani forces on foot patrols in an area just west of Marjah. Very well done, honest reporting, and a good representation on what the daily patrols experience.
SkyTV has allowed the series to be posted in whole online...
Let us just pray this doesn’t become Son of Fallujah.
More than the Taliban are concerned about disruptions of the local economy. When you threaten people’s ‘rice bowls’ don’t expect cheering crowds to welcome your arrival.
Afghans in Marjah have a drug trade to defend
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/afghanistan/100204/helmand-counterinsurgency-heroin
As Americans prepare for an offensive on Marjah, in Helmand, locals worry about their livelihoods.
Loren to Tony Blair, “IT WAS ROSS KEMP!”.
What has happened to Oliver North’s “War Stories” programs on Fox News? Why doesn’t Fox News play these SkyNews pieces? They’re both part of Murdoch’s News Corp.
Good run down as to what will happen over the next two weeks in that province.
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